Willis argued that some pupils resist schooling by forming anti-school subcultures to do what?

• A. Reproduce the system
• B. Resist the system and capitalist expectations
• C. Are indifferent to authority
• D. Are naturally rebellious

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that anti-school subcultures are a form of resistance to the schooling system and its expectations within a capitalist society. In Willis’s work, especially Learning to Labour, working-class boys form a distinct subculture inside school that mocks academic effort, rejects authority, and values behavior that aligns with manual, low-status jobs. This isn’t about passively absorbing school lessons; it’s a purposeful reaction to the way schooling is linked to future work in a capitalist economy. By creating their own norms and codes, they resist the system’s attempt to socialize them into particular occupational futures and to accept the capitalist expectations placed on them.

This isn’t about reproducing the system, indifference to authority, or innate rebellion. The subculture is a strategic response to structural pressures in education and the job market, shaped by class position and the realities of capitalism.